Torque Refine

Single entry-point for all prompt engineering, requirements gathering, and planning workflows. Routes to 6 internal capabilities based on user intent. Supports Jira integration to push task breakdowns as subtasks.

Context

This skill runs in planning-only refine sessions:

• No MR creation — refine sessions never create merge requests or feature branches
• Multi-repo workspace — the workspace may contain multiple cloned repos for codebase analysis
• Jira integration — use torque-tool jira to create subtasks and update parent issues

Quick Start

1. Detect user intent (see routing below)
2. Load the matching rule: torque-tool skill read torque-refine then read the appropriate reference
3. Follow that rule exactly

Intent Routing

Default: If the user has a prompt/PRD to optimize, use Improve. If they only have a vague idea with no written artifact, use Start to gather requirements first.

Workflow

Vague Idea --> START --> conversation --> SUMMARIZE --> mini-PRD
                                              |
Clear Feature --> PRD ------------------------+-> full PRD --> PLAN --> tasks.md
                                                                |
Existing Prompt --> IMPROVE                                     v
                                                     Jira subtasks (optional)
Existing PRD/Prompt --> REFINE --> back to any mode

Key Behaviors

1. Announce mode before starting (State Assertion)
2. Never write implementation code - planning only
3. Self-correct mistakes (DETECT/STOP/CORRECT/RESUME)
4. Verify file saves - Write then Read to confirm
5. One question at a time in Start and PRD modes
6. Always present plan before creating Jira issues - never push to Jira without confirmation
7. Always score quality - Every mode uses the 6-dimension quality assessment

Universal Quality Assessment

All modes must evaluate outputs using 6 dimensions (0-100%):

Quality gate: If overall score < 70%, recommend running Improve mode first to optimize before proceeding to the next step.

Jira Integration

After generating tasks.md, offer to push tasks as Jira subtasks:

# Show parent issue details first
torque-tool jira show --key PROJ-456

# Create subtask with priority (always prefix with [repo-name])
torque-tool jira create-subtask --parent PROJ-456 \
  --title "[payments-api] Add retry logic" \
  --description "Scope: files to change..." \
  --assignee me --priority High

# Link dependencies (MRTCH-1 blocks MRTCH-2)
torque-tool jira link --from MRTCH-1 --to MRTCH-2 --type Blocks

# Update parent issue title with repo context
torque-tool jira update --key PROJ-456 \
  --title "[payments-api] Updated title" \
  --description "Updated requirements..."

Subtask Conventions

• Always prefix with [repo-name]: Every subtask title starts with the repo name in brackets (e.g., [payments-api] Add retry logic)
• Single-repo tasks: Also update the parent task title with the repo prefix
• Priority: Use --priority with: Highest, High, Medium, Low, Lowest
• Dependencies: Use torque-tool jira link --from X --to Y --type Blocks (X blocks Y)
• Assignee: Use --assignee me to auto-assign subtasks to the current user
• Description: Include scope (files to change), context, and enough detail for the next agent to work autonomously
• Granularity: Each subtask should be completable in one coding session
• Fallback: If torque-tool jira fails (rate limit, auth), save tasks.md and tell the user to create subtasks manually

Transitioning Issues

Workflows differ per project. Always check available transitions before moving:

# Check what transitions are available from current status
torque-tool jira transitions PROJ-456

# Move to a specific status
torque-tool jira transition PROJ-456 --name "Development"

# Close an issue (walks all transitions to Done automatically)
torque-tool jira close PROJ-456

Deleting Subtasks

When the user asks to delete subtasks (e.g., "delete the subtasks", "remove all subtasks", "start fresh"):

# List subtasks first to confirm what will be deleted
torque-tool jira list-subtasks PROJ-456

# Delete individual subtasks
torque-tool jira delete MRTCH-1371
torque-tool jira delete MRTCH-1372

# If delete fails (403), close them instead
torque-tool jira close MRTCH-1371
torque-tool jira close MRTCH-1372

# Or delete a parent and all its subtasks at once
torque-tool jira delete PROJ-456 --delete-subtasks

Always list subtasks before deleting to confirm with the user. Never delete without showing what will be removed.

Output Location

All outputs save to .mula/outputs/:

• PRDs: .mula/outputs/{project}/
• Prompts: .mula/outputs/prompts/{id}.md
• Tasks: .mula/outputs/{project}/tasks.md

After Planning

When plan mode generates tasks.md:

1. Present the task breakdown to the user
2. Ask: "Would you like me to create these as Jira subtasks under the parent issue?"
3. If yes, use torque-tool jira create-subtask for each task
4. If no: "Your task breakdown is ready. Implement using your preferred workflow."

References